Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
